Boot-leg supporter



(No Model.)

H.' G. Booz. BOOT LEG SUPPORTER.

No. 438,466. Patented Oct. 14, 1890.

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. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARVEY G. BOOZ, OF DOYLESTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

BOOT-LEG SUPPORTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 438,466, dated October 14, 1890.

Application iiled January 6, 1890. Serial No. 335,998. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HARVEY G. Booz, of Doylestown, in the county of Bucks and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Boot-Leg Supporter, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

M y invention relates to an improvement in devices for supporting boot-legs in an upright position, and has for its object to provide a simple means applicable to any boot, whereby the leg of said boot will be prevented from sagging down or wrinkling at the ankle, and

` also to so construct the supporting device ing the longer.

that it will yield laterally when the wearer of the boot is walking and conform to the movements of the ankle-joint.

The inventionconsists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters and figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is an inner side view of a portion of a boot-leg having my invention applied. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line @c x of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of one form of the device detached, and Fig. 4 is a similar view of another form of the device.

In carrying out the invention the boot-leg l0 is provided upon its inner face near one or both side seams 11 with a vertical pocket 12, which pocket is preferably made to extend from a point at or near the top'of the bootleg downward to the bottom and contact with the sole attached to .the said boot. The pocket 12 is adapted to receive a supporting-bar 13, which supporting-bar is preferably made of sheet spring metal, ordinarily steel, and in two sections a and a', the upper section be- The upper section o, of the supportingbar is convex upon one face and concave upon the other for a portion of its length, as best illustrated at 14 in Figs. 3 and 4, and the said section a is also usually provided at its upper end with a slot 15, as illustrated in Fig. 3, or an aperture 16, as shown in Fig. 4.

The lower or shorter section a of the supporting-bar is pivotally attached at its upper end to the lower extremity of the upper section a, and if in practice it is found desirable the lower extremity of the lower section a may be bent upon itself at a right angle to form a horizontally-disposed lip a2. The supporting-bar is provided with this lip a2 only when it is to be used in connection with a very heavy boot, as when the bar is attached 6o to a light boot the lip may be omitted, as shown in Fig. 4.

A supporting-bar 13 is introduced into each pocket 12 of the boot-leg, and if the bar is provided with a lip a2 the said lip extends in- 65 ward from the pocket over or into the sole of the boot, at which point it is securely fastened.v The upper extremity of the upper section a of the supporting-bar may be attached to the boot-leg in any approved manner-as, 7o for instance, by means of a rivet passed through the sides of the leg or through the slot 15 or aperture 16 in the bar; or the pocket may be stitched transversely' immediately above the upper end of the bar. 7 5

When the form of device shown in Fig. 4, in which the lip is omitted, is employed, the lower end of the lower section thereof is simply made to contact with the sole of the boot.

The curve 14 in the upper section of the 8o supporting-bar tends to curve upward the sides of the bootleg at the ankle of the wearer and above the same. Itis obvious that when one or more of the supporters are employed in connection with a boot-leg the said bootleg will be held at all times in an upright position and be effectually prevented from wrinklin g or sagging at the ankle, and thereby presenting a very unsightly appearance.

The object of dividing the supporter into 9o two sections and of pivot-ally uniting the said sections is to provide for the movement of the bar in its pocket, which movement will correspond with the movement of the anklejoint of the wearer of the boot when he is walking, and to that end the length of the lower and upper sections is so determined that when the supporting-bar is placed in position in its pocket the pivotal connection of the sections of said bar will be essentially oppo- Ioo site the space occupied by the ankle when the boot is worn. If the bar were made in one piece and no movement provided therefor, as the leg is held at all times in a rigid upright position the boot would chafe the wearer and prove very uncomfortable; but by dividing the bar into two sections and pivotally connecting the same a lateral movement of the bar is obtained each time the heel is moved up or down in the act of walking.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. As an improved article of manufacture, a supporting device for boot-legs, consisting of a bar formed of the upper section a, curved for a portion of its length and provided with an aperture in its upper end, and the lower section a of less length than the upper section and pivoted to the said upper section, the bar being adapted to be inserted in a pocket of the boot-leg with its lower section engaging the sole of the boot, as specified.

2. As an improved article of manufacture, a supporting device for boot-legs, consisting of a strap or bar of metal constructed in two sections pivotally united, the upper section being curved for a portion of its length and the lower section provided at its lower extremity withalip, as and for the purpose specified.

A HARVEY G. BOOZ. Witnesses:

WM. H. RANDALL, CHARLES D. BIGLEY. 

